Just finished reading Barack Obama’s “Dreams from my Father” – it’s a good read – flowing narrative that draws you in, with insightful and nuanced reflection. The book is about his journey to discover and forge his own identity, and also about his thoughts on race politics. He writes about growing up with the identity struggles that come with mixed cultural background, working as a community organiser in Chicago, and returning to Africa to meet his father’s side of the family.

i was surprised how emotional i became when reading about Obama in the latest edition of Time mag. Emotions that kept returning as i read the book. Could there really be an authentic person in politics? Someone with intelligence, decency, style and the competence to govern .. who believes in assembling the best minds and working together to solve problems?

That sense of hope that he generates was sorely needed in the world, especially when looking to the USA to return to its noble visions of highest and best potential.

For me it’s not so much about the colour of his skin .. as the fact that we are about to have a Community Organiser in the White House. Not only a person who works at grass roots level, but someone who understands that to solve big problems, we need to find common ground and work together.

(i say “we” .. meaning that .. that the whole world depends on that one country to be their best. Unlike the fearful and aggressive, unreconstructed alcoholic version of the US we’ve had recently.)

In my view Barack is a good person, who believes in getting things done .. and does things differently. My hope is that he will move politics back into a place of decency and competency, genuine problem solving and that he will inspire others to join the world of community organisers.

He is a good person .. i wonder if he will turn out to be a great person.

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i just remembered watching the acceptance speeches at Ben and Rhi’s house, projected huge upon the wall.
Just as sweet as the day kevin007 took the throne of Oz.

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Links:

• Article in Newsweek about the book.
• Book on Amazon.

photo credit: Hot Meteor

Via Delia at biddyjournal, news of a movie called Hope, which tells the stories of Siev-x. Screening very soon !! At the Nova in Melbourne, and around the whole of Australia.

i referred to an article in New Matilda a while back, and they’ve since changed all their links: Tony Kevin wrote on the seventh anniversary of the tragedy, describing the heartfelt compassion in the Canberra memorial that so many people struggled to create.

“Each pole represents compassion, love and acceptance of the stranger Australian values that were in little evidence in Australia during the 2001 election campaign”

353 people on the boat .. only 7 made it to Australia.

(image from wikipedia, thanks :{

Time for some good news. i’ve just been reading Pitchfork Design .. where Sam talks of a new project up near Swan Hill; and her inspiration is this amazing tale of greening the desert in Jordan.

This video is so worth watching, from desert to fruit trees and oasis: “You can solve the problems of the world in a garden,” says Geoff Lawton the permaculture artist behind the project.

3years later they’ve revisited the system to see what’s happened:

and here’s Geoff Lawton talking more about the project:

.. and read up on Sam’s projects too, she’s doing amazing work rebuilding the gardens in schools around Victoria. go Sam!